Workmen's advocate., 1887-01-01
THE TOUCHSTONE.
Radical Honesty in Our Social Rela.
 tiOns That is. Socialism.

Whenever there is remedy proposed for the grievances of workingmen, it is claimed that this remedy is the true and only one. For many, there is really some difficulty in distinguishing between these propositions and to differentiate the best one. But with the aid of good touch stone we may easily find the true solu- tion of the labor question, which must serve as basis for united action.
 All propositions for the solution of the labor question are either calculated to raise wages or to reduce the cost of liv- ing. A proposition which will secure to the workers the full profits of their labor and uninterrupted employment, is nec- essarily the real solution of the problem, because no other remedy can raise wages as high. This is the touchstone, by means of which we can easily estimate the val ue of any so-called remedy.
 Let us now review some propositions from this standpoint. such as the nation alization of land, protection free trade, etc. Can any of these propositions se- cure to the workers the full fruits of their labor? By no means Protection or free trade can hardly have any effect upon our wages, while the result of the naturalization of land alone could at best reduce rent.
 AS long as all the means of production are not also nationalized, and the wage system abolished, the workers cannot re- ceive the full fruits of their labor.
 If wOrkingmen wish to secure this, they must inaugurate complete system of cooperative production and distribu- ton, under their own supervision and di- rection they must no longer wrangle with hosses, but they must abolish them. If this be done they will no longer give share of the fruits of their labor to the employers; they will no longer be tyran- ized or discharged by them, but steady employment will be secured forever. Then there will be no struggle for exist ence, no strikes and lock -outs.
 But this is the realization of Socialism! Will that not frighten some working men? Ihope not! I hope that everybody will soon learn that Socialism IS the only true solution of the ldbor question: If all worklngmen knew what Socialism is, and what blessing it's realization would bring to mankind, they all would be So- cialists. It is only to be regretted that this is not the case. There are indeed thousands, yea millions, of unconscious Socialists in this country who are not aware of it. All the Knights of Labor, who are true to their platform, are So- cialists at heart. although they discard the term.
 Paragraph II, in the K. of l.. .plrtfomr, de mands that the workers shall have the full enjoyment of the wealth they produce i; and paragraph xix furthermore demands the abolition of the wage system.
 These two demands are the fundamen- tai blanks in the platform of the Social istic Labor Party. Why then do the K. of L. hesitate to accept Socialism.
 If we recognize Socialism as the only true solution of the labor question, we should all join hands and preach it's doc trines in order to bring relief to the suf- ferers.
 It is high time that every workingman and all members of labor organizations should know that there can be no other solution of the labor question than social ism. Palliative measures can not even